The tree will be driven about 70 miles to Midtown Manhattan and lifted by a crane onto Rockefeller Plaza on Saturday, Nov. 10.

In the days that follow, it will be decorated with 50,000 multi-colored, energy-efficient LED lights and topped with a new Swarovski star designed by architect Daniel Libeskind.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a worldwide symbol of the holidays, will be lit for the first time on Wednesday, Nov. 28, with live performances at Rockefeller Plaza. Performers have not yet been announced.

The event is free and open to the public, and will be broadcast nationally from 8 to 10 p.m. on NBC.

The tree will be lit from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily through the holiday season. It can be viewed until 9 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2019. After the tree is taken down, it will be donated to Habitat for Humanity for the 12th consecutive year as lumber to build homes.

In 1931, during the Great Depression, workers at the Rockefeller Center construction site erected and decorated a small tree, and then lined up at the tree to receive their paychecks -- thankful to be working at that time.

The tree became an annual tradition in 1933, when Rockefeller Center held the first official lighting ceremony.